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Childhood maltreatment (CM) plays an important role in the development of major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of this study was to examine whether CM severity and type are associated with MDD-related brain alterations, and how they interact with sex and age.

Methods

Within the ENIGMA-MDD network, severity and subtypes of CM using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire were assessed and structural magnetic resonance imaging data from patients with MDD and healthy controls were analyzed in a mega-analysis comprising a total of 3872 participants aged between 13 and 89 years. Cortical thickness and surface area were extracted at each site using FreeSurfer.

Results

CM severity was associated with reduced cortical thickness in the banks of the superior temporal sulcus and supramarginal gyrus as well as with reduced surface area of the middle temporal lobe. Participants reporting both childhood neglect and abuse had a lower cortical thickness in the inferior parietal lobe, middle temporal lobe, and precuneus compared to participants not exposed to CM. In males only, regardless of diagnosis, CM severity was associated with higher cortical thickness of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex. Finally, a significant interaction between CM and age in predicting thickness was seen across several prefrontal, temporal, and temporo-parietal regions.

Conclusions

Severity and type of CM may impact cortical thickness and surface area. Importantly, CM may influence age-dependent brain maturation, particularly in regions related to the default mode network, perception, and theory of mind.

Dietary delivery of bacterially expressed double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) has a great potential for management of Leptinotarsa decemlineata. An important first step is to discover possible RNA-interference (RNAi)-target genes effective against larvae, especially the old larvae. In the present paper, five putative Broad-Complex (BrC) cDNAs (Z1-Z4, and Z6) were identified in L. decemlineata. The expression of the five LdBrC isoforms was suppressed by juvenile hormone signaling, whereas the transcription was upregulated by 20-hydroxyecdysone signaling at the fourth (final) instar larval stage. Feeding of bacterially expressed dsBrC (derived from a common fragment of the five LdBrC variants) in the third- and fourth-instar larvae successfully knocked down the target mRNAs. For the fourth-instar LdBrC RNAi hypomorphs, they had a higher larval mortality compared with the controls. Moreover, most dsBrC-fed beetles did not pupate normally. After removal of the apolysed larval cuticle, a miniature adult was found. The adult head, compound eyes, prothorax, mesothorax, metathorax were found on the dorsal view. Distinct adult cuticle pigmentation was seen on the prothorax. The mouthparts, forelegs, midlegs, and hindlegs could be observed on the ventral view of the miniature adults. For the third-instar LdBrC RNAi specimens, around 20% moribund beetles remained as prepupae and finally died. Therefore, LdBrC is among the most attractive candidate genes for RNAi to control the fourth-instar larvae in L. decemlineata.

We explore spatial aliasing of non-Gaussian distributions of sea-ice thickness. Using a heuristic model and >1000 measurements, we show how different instrument footprint sizes and shapes can cluster thickness distributions into artificial modes, thereby distorting frequency distribution, making it difficult to compare and communicate information across spatial scales. This problem has not been dealt with systematically in sea ice until now, largely because it appears to incur no significant change in integrated thickness which often serves as a volume proxy. Concomitantly, demands are increasing for thickness distribution as a resource for modeling, monitoring and forecasting air–sea fluxes and growing human infrastructure needs in a changing polar environment. New demands include the characterization of uncertainties both regionally and seasonally for spaceborne, airborne, in situ and underwater measurements. To serve these growing needs, we quantify the impact of spatial aliasing by computing resolution error (Er) over a range of horizontal scales (x) from 5 to 500 m. Results are summarized through a power law (Er= bxm) with distinct exponents (m) from 0.3 to 0.5 using example mathematical functions including Gaussian, inverse linear and running mean filters. Recommendations and visualizations are provided to encourage discussion, new data acquisitions, analysis methods and metadata formats.

There is limited information on the presentation and characteristics of psychotic illness experienced by people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Aims

To describe autistic and psychotic phenomenology in a group of individuals with comorbid ASD and psychosis (ASD–P) and compare this group with populations affected by either, alone.

Method

We studied 116 individuals with ASD–P. We compared features of their ASD with people with ASD and no comorbid psychosis (ASD–NP), and clinical characteristics of psychosis in ASD–P with people with psychosis only.

Results

Individuals with ASD–P had more diagnoses of atypical psychosis and fewer of schizophrenia compared with individuals with psychosis only. People with ASD–P had fewer stereotyped interests/behaviours compared with those with ASD–NP.

Conclusions

Our data show there may be a specific subtype of ASD linked to comorbid psychosis. The results support findings that psychosis in people with ASD is often atypical, particularly regarding affective disturbance.

Se and green tea have been shown in epidemiological, observational and preclinical studies to be inversely related to the risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC). However, there are limited studies to evaluate their regulatory effects on genes/proteins that relate to CRC oncogenesis in human subjects, such as selenoproteins, WNT signalling pathway, inflammation and methylation. This study examined the effects of supplementation of Se using Brazil nuts and green tea extract (GTE) capsules, alone and in combination, on targeted biomarkers. In total, thirty-two volunteers (>50 years of age) with plasma Se≤1·36 µmol/l were randomised to one of three treatment groups: nine to Se (approximately 48 µg/d) as six Brazil nuts, eleven to four GTE capsules (800 mg (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate) and twelve to a combination of Brazil nuts and GTE. Blood and rectal biopsies were obtained before and after each intervention. Plasma Se levels, rectal selenoprotein P (SePP) and β-catenin mRNA increased significantly in subjects consuming Brazil nuts alone or in combination, whereas rectal DNA methyltransferase (DNMT1) and NF-κB mRNA were reduced significantly in subjects consuming GTE alone or in combination. None of the interventions significantly affected rectal acetylated histone H3 or Ki-67 expression at the protein level or plasma C-reactive protein. Effects of the combination of Brazil nuts and GTE did not differ from what would be expected from either agent alone. In conclusion, supplementation of Brazil nuts and/or GTE regulates targeted biomarkers related to CRC oncogenesis, specifically genes associated with selenoproteins (SePP), WNT signalling (β-catenin), inflammation (NF-κB) and methylation (DNMT1). Their combination does not appear to provide additional effects compared with either agent alone.

Germany has been an officially bovine tuberculosis (bTB)-free (OTF) country since 1996. Gradually rising numbers of bTB herd incidents due to Mycobacterium bovis and M. caprae in North-Western and Southern Germany during the last few years prompted the competent authorities to conduct a nationwide bTB survey in 2013/2014. This led to the detection of a dairy herd in which as many as 55 cattle reacted positively to consecutive intra vitam testing. Test-positive animals lacked visible lesions indicative of bTB at necropsy. Extensive mycobacterial culturing as well as molecular testing of samples from 11 tissues for members of the M. tuberculosis complex (MTC) yielded negative results throughout. However, caseous lymphadenitis of Ln. mandibularis accessorius was observed during meat inspection of a fattening pig from the same farm at regular slaughter at that time. Respective tissue samples tested MTC positive by polymerase chain reaction, and M. tuberculosis T1 family were identified by spoligotyping. Four human reactors within the farmer's family were also found to be immunoreactive. As exposure of livestock to M. tuberculosis is not generally considered, its impact may result in regulatory and practical difficulties when using protocols designed to detect classical bTB, particularly in OTF countries.

In this paper we present fast response processes in dye doped liquid crystal cell with ZnSe layers on electrodes. Two-wave mixing and grating monitoring experiments were performed to characterize this liquid crystal system. With the help of photoconductive layers, the response time was reduced to a few milliseconds, which improved further the response rate in liquid crystal photorefractive system. A peak in response time versus applied voltage and unexpected oscillations in diffraction efficiency dynamics were observed, which implies unconventionally complex charge dynamics associated with SPPs excited at one of the photoconductive layer/liquid crystal interfaces.

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is an acute contagious condition caused by a spectrum of human enteroviruses. HFMD reinfection is common in the absence of cross-protection from other virus subtypes. This study focused on reinfection in children in Anhui province, China between 2008 and 2013 using surveillance system data. We classified 8960 cases as reinfected, corresponding to a rate of 2·02%. The reinfection rate was higher in boys than in girls [odds ratio (OR) 1·27, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·21–1·32, P < 0·001], children aged < 3 years (OR 3·82, 95% CI 3·58–4·07, P < 0·001), and children living in rural areas (OR 1·09, 95% CI 1·04–1·14, P = 0·001). The reinfection rate in children who were originally infected with non-enterovirus A71 (non-EVA71) enteroviruses was higher than those infected with EVA71 (OR 1·36, 95% CI 1·02–1·80, P = 0·034). Influential factors of reinfection rate included annual incidence (β coefficient = 0·715, P = 0·002) and the proportion of EVA71 in patients with mild HFMD (β coefficient = −0·509, P = 0·018). These results demonstrate that boys aged <3 years, especially those in rural areas or regions with a lower EVA71 proportion are more prone to reinfection, and specific health education programmes should be developed to protect these susceptible populations.

Summary

General introduction of rocky intertidal and salt marsh systems

The land–sea margin encompasses a variety of hard and soft-bottom habitats where organisms are exposed to a dynamic range of aquatic and atmospheric conditions dependent on a rhythm set by the tides. In this chapter, we focus on rocky intertidal and salt marsh ecosystems, which have been extensively studied on many continents. Both rocky shore and salt marsh communities exhibit strong and consistent patterns of intertidal zonation over relatively compressed spatial scales, making them excellent systems for understanding the context-dependency of species interactions. Hard-bottomed rocky intertidal communities are dominated by marine macroalgae and sessile marine invertebrates extending their reach to the furthest edge of the influence of sea spray, while soft-bottomed salt marsh communities are anchored by terrestrial plants with adaptations or tolerance to inundation by salty and brackish waters. Rocky shore communities may be battered by the full force of large ocean waves or gently lapped with seawater on more protected shorelines. In contrast, salt marshes are restricted to quiet waters where sediment accretion by plants is the main mechanism for habitat creation. Both communities may experience very large tidal excursions or only minimal ones, depending on the local dynamics of the tides, with corresponding consequences for the spatial extent of these communities across the shoreline. The steep environmental gradients and distinctive biological zonation patterns that characterize both rocky shore and salt marsh ecosystems (Fig. 7.1) have provided ecologists with accessible and highly tractable ecosystems for investigating the role of bottom-up and top-down factors along environmental gradients.

Bottom-up and top-down interactions in rocky intertidal systems

Introduction to rocky intertidal systems

Rocky intertidal communities have been the subject of intensive study world-wide, especially at temperate latitudes. The typically broad tidal range and relatively moderate atmospheric conditions create a wide zone of intertidal habitat that is generally hospitable to rocky intertidal species, while also readily accessible to investigators for hours at a time during periods of low tide and calm sea state.

Ecomorphological diversity of Mesozoic mammals was presumably constrained by selective pressures imposed by contemporary vertebrates. In accordance, Mesozoic mammals for a long time had been viewed as generalized, terrestrial, small-bodied forms with limited locomotor specializations. Recent discoveries of Mesozoic mammal skeletons with distinctive postcranial morphologies have challenged this hypothesis. However, ecomorphological analyses of these new postcrania have focused on a single taxon, a limited region of the skeleton, or have been largely qualitative.

For more comprehensive locomotor inference in Mesozoic mammals, we applied multivariate analyses to a morphometric data set of extant small-bodied mammals. We used 30 osteological indices derived from linear measurements of appendicular skeletons of 107 extant taxa that sample 15 orders and eight locomotor modes. Canonical variate analyses show that extant small-bodied mammals of different locomotor modes have detectable and predictable morphologies. The resulting morphospace occupation reveals a morphofunctional continuum that extends from terrestrial to scansorial, arboreal, and gliding modes, reflecting an increasingly slender postcranial skeleton with longer limb output levers adapted for speed and agility, and extends from terrestrial to semiaquatic/semifossorial and fossorial modes, reflecting an increasingly robust postcranial skeleton with shorter limb output levers adapted for powerful, propulsive strokes. We used this morphometric data set to predict locomotor mode in ten Mesozoic mammals within the Docodonta, Multituberculata, Eutriconodonta, “Symmetrodonta,” and Eutheria. Our results indicate that these fossil taxa represent five of eight locomotor modes used to classify extant taxa in this study, in some cases confirming and in other cases differing from prior ecomorphological assessments. Together with previous locomotor inferences of 19 additional taxa, these results show that by the Late Jurassic mammals had diversified into all but the saltatorial and active flight locomotor modes, and that this diversification was greatest in the Eutriconodonta and Multituberculata, although sampling of postcranial skeletons remains uneven across taxa and through time.

Monochamol (2-undecyloxy-1-ethanol) is a male-produced aggregation pheromone for several Monochamus Dejean (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) species. We conducted trapping experiments in Canada, Poland, and China to test whether monochamol was attractive to additional Monochamus species and if attraction was synergised by plant volatiles and bark beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) pheromones. We provide the first evidence of attraction for M. urussovii (Fischer) and M. saltuarius (Gebler) to monochamol or monochamol+kairomones. The highest numbers of M. urussovii were captured in traps baited with monochamol+plant volatiles (Manuka oil, ethanol and (95/5±) α−pinene). Captures of M. saltuarius were highest in traps baited with monochamol, with the addition of cubeb oil tending to reduce captures. The highest numbers of M. scutellatus (Say) were captured in traps baited with monochamol+kairomones. A similar pattern in trap captures was found for M. notatus (Drury), M. marmorator Kirby, M. carolinensis (Olivier), and M. mutator LeConte. Detection rates, that is, proportion of traps capturing at least one specimen, was highest for traps baited with monochamol plus kairomones, particularly for less-common species. These results support the emerging hypothesis that pheromone compounds can attract related cerambycid species with cumulative evidence for attraction to monochamol for 12 species of Monochamus worldwide.

Trade records show that since the 1990s China has changed from a net exporting to a net importing country with respect to some species of snakes. Imports of snakes to China increased up to 2002, when the National Wildlife Management Authority imposed a suspension of international trade in snakes. We investigated the impact of the ban using the same methods as an earlier study of this trade for the period 1990–2001. We found that both imports and exports of snakes recorded in the CITES Trade Database and the Wild Animal and Plant International Trade Database of China have decreased markedly since 2004. The combination of national-level control measures and CITES regulations appear to have controlled the previously unsustainable utilization of snakes in China.

We report the preparation and characterization of binary blend films of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and poly(1- ethyl-3-vinylimidazolium trifluoromethylsulfonylimide) (PVIm+TFSI-) derived from ionic liquid imidazolium monomers and doped with TFSI- salt. The potential utility of such materials in capacitive electronic devices and in proton exchange membrane fuel cells is of particular interest. Thin PVDF/ PVIm+TFSI- films were fabricated from solutions of dimethly formamide (DMF) by doctor blading. The nature of the PVDF crystalline polymorph and degree of crystallinity were evaluated as a function of the volume fraction of imidazolium polymer and thermal treatment. The morphology, thermal and mechanical characteristics and crystallinity of PVDF, in semicrystalline blend films was studied by wide angle X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and dynamic mechanical analysis. In these materials, conditions such as choice of solvent, drying conditions, and thermal treatment affect the crystal phase, crystallite size, and degree of crystallinity of PVDF as well as the distribution of the minor component, the vinylimidazolium polymer. The polar beta phase of PVDF crystals dominates in as-cast films, while the non-polar alpha phase is observed after cooling from the melt. PVDF imparts mechanical strength and chemical stability to the composite films, and because of its high crystal melting point (Tm > 160 °C), serves to improve the high temperature stability of resulting films.

Thioredoxins (Trxs) are widely distributed, small proteins that function in redox regulation in a broad spectrum of cellular reactions. Experimental work with barley, wheat and a legume (Medicago truncatula) has established thioredoxin h (Trx h) as a central regulatory protein in seeds, reducing disulphide (S–S) groups of diverse seed proteins, including storage proteins, enzymes and enzyme inhibitors. Trxs appear to be particularly important in plants, as a large number of genes are present compared to mammalian organisms. In Arabidopsis thaliana there are approximately 20 different genes for classical Trxs, and large Trx gene families have also been found in cereals, such as rice, barley, wheat and sorghum. Extensive evidence indicates that adding Trx, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and NADP-thioredoxin reductase (NTR) to cereal flour or seed preparations reduces disulphide (S–S) linkages of storage proteins. The early in vitro studies have been complemented with transgenic barley seed, overexpressing Trx h in protein bodies of the barley endosperm, which showed accelerated germination and early or enhanced expression of associated enzymes, i.e., α-amylase and pullulanase. Overexpression of Trx h levels in wheat was subsequently shown to (1) enhance protein solubility and digestibility, (2) reduce allergenicity of wheat gliadins, and (3) improve dough quality from poor-quality wheat flour. Most recently, we have demonstrated that down-regulation in wheat of Trx h9, a unique thioredoxin, leads to a reduction in the incidence of pre-harvest sprouting, demonstrated in several varieties over multiple generations with field-grown material. Yield and starch content were increased while baking quality in the high-gluten variety remained unchanged. These observations led to the intriguing question of how changes in the endosperm are communicated to the embryo. Studies of Trx h9, a membrane-associated Trx h that can move from cell to cell, provide suggestive evidence for a role of Trx h9 in intercellular communication of redox state.

Valence mending of a semiconductor surface, such as the Se-passivated Si(001) surface, improves the chemical and thermal stability of the surface as compared to the bare Si(001) surface. In this paper, we report the suppression of Ni silicide formation between Ni and Si(001) through monolayer passivation of Si(001) by Se. Ni was deposited on both Se-passivated and bare Si(001) surfaces. The samples were annealed at temperatures from 400°C to 700°C. Cross-sectional TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) revealed that Ni on bare samples reacted with Si at 400°C and formed silicide, whereas Ni on Se-passivated samples did not react with Si at 500°C. Surface composition analysis by XPS (X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) showed pure Ni surface on Se-passivated samples annealed at 400°C and 500°C, but silicide surface on bare samples annealed at the same temperatures. Hence, Se passivation suppresses the formation of Ni silicide on the Si(001) surface by over 100°C as compared to the bare Si(001) surface. These results may have important implications in source/drain engineering in sub-100 nm Si CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) devices.

The synthesis parameters have been systematically examined for the in situ growth of high temperature superconducting Y‐Ba‐Cu‐0 thin films from a stoichiometric target by rf magnetron sputtering. By properly adjusting the deposition temperature, the total sputtering (O2+Ar)‐pressure and the O2‐partial pressure, we have reproducibly obtained 123 YBCO films with a zero resistivity temperature Tcz = 84 K and a transition width of 3 K°. The films so obtained have excellent surface morphology and a surface roughness better than ∼ 5 nm.

Spectra of the oxygen K-edge extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) of the superconducting compound Y-Ba-Cu-O were obtained by measuring the total electron yield as a function of incident x-ray energy at temperatures between 77K and 300K. This technique affords a convenient way for probing the local environment around the oxygen atoms and soft modes in the lattice.

Results of systematic measurements on the diffusion of radionuclides through sandy, marlaceous and clayley sediment rocks from strata overlying the Gorleben salt dome are presented. The tracer nuclides used were U-233, Ra-226, Pb-210, and Ni-63. It is shown that, among other parameters, diffusion coefficients and distribution coefficients could be derived from breakthrough curves. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the diffusion behaviour of nuclides such as Pb and Ni can be enhanced enormously in sediment rocks by complex forming agents (EDTA).

The magnetization of antiferromagnetic superconducting GdBa2Cu3O6+δ has been measured for ∼1.5 < T ≤4.2 K for magnetic fields up to ∼20 T. We found that all Gd3+ spins are nearly parallel at very high fields, and that this saturated spin subsystem coexists with superconductivity. Below the Neel temperature, 2.22 K, we observed the transition from the “canted” phase to the paramagnetic phase by the application of a high magnetic field. The temperature dependence of this phase transition is also reported.